Akron Finishes Third Overall at MAC Match Play Challenge

Tuesday, February 5

Royal Lakes Course | Lakewood Ranch, FL

18 Holes

University of Akron

MAC Match Play Challenge

Photo by: Ernie Aranyosi

Akron Finishes Third Overall at MAC Match Play Challenge

February 05 | Women's Golf

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Bracket PDF | GolfStat: LiveScoring | Pairings | Leaderboard: Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals

Lakewood Ranch, Fla. – On the final day of the Mid-American Conference Match Play Challenge, the Akron Zips fell 3-1-1 to top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast, but bounced back with an all-square match against Northern Illinois to secure third place on Tuesday at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.

Senior Danielle Nicholson (Geneva, Ohio) was 1-0-1 on the day, playing to an even match in the opener against FGCU's Laura Edmonds. Edmonds established the early advantage by winning the initial hole, but Nicholson tied the match on the second hole and led by as many as three holes at the pair entered the 14^th hole. Edmonds secured 14 and 15 as Nicholson still held a 1up advantage heading into the final hole. Edmonds earned the 18^th hole, resulting in an all-square match.

In the afternoon match against NIU's Lauren Ingle, Nicholson put together a dominating performance. Nicholson recorded a 6&5 win by securing the first three holes and finishing the first nine holes with a 5up advantage. Two holes later on the 11^th played hole, Nicholson added a hole to the total and kept the 6up advantage through 13 holes where the match ended.

Freshman Ivana Shah (Mumbai, India) also picked up a split decision as she bounced back from an early morning loss. Shah dropped the first match 5&4 to FGCU's Kelsy Holbert, and earned an all-square decision against NIU's Ahra Ko. Ko led by as many as two holes before Shah was able to battle back. On the 14^th hole played of the round, Shah squared-up the match, but made her final push by winning hole No. 14. The pairing split the next two holes and played even the rest of the way.

Junior Allyson Wentworth (Stewartsville, N.J.) picked up the Zips lone win against top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast. Wentworth went 1-1 on the day and secured a 2&1 decision over FGSU's Natalia Nassar, but fell 3&2 to NIU's Brielle Ward. Against FGCU, Wentworth controlled the match winning the first hole and leading by as many as two hole during the front-9. On the 9^th hole Nassar, cut the lead to one hole and gained the advantage on 13 to square the match. Wentworth didn't panic, and won 15, held on 16 and won again on 17 to end the match. In the afternoon round, Wentworth fell behind early and never recovered.

Senior Makayla Dull (Fremont, Ohio) also posted a win on the final day of competition as she defeated NIU's Isabella Samudio (5&4). Dull was dominant after falling 4&2 to FGCU's Ailsa Clark. Dull established the lead early, winning the second hole and never looked back. She led by as many as four holes on the front-9 and increased the lead to 5up on the 13^th hole. She maintained the lead the following hole where the match ended.

Rounding out the action for the Zips was sophomore Abbie Pearce (Green, Ohio) who fell to FGCU's Madeline Marck-Sherk (1up) and NIU's Kelly Anderson (5&4).

Akron women's golf team will be back in action on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 22-24, at the three-day Rio Verde Invitational. Senior Danielle Nicholson (Geneva, Ohio) will be looking for her third-straight Rio Verde individual championship, while the Zips look to improve their runner-up finish from 2018.

Results
1st Place: Bowling Green
2nd Place: Florida Gulf Coast
3rd Place: Akron
4th Place: Northern Illinois
5th Place: Eastern Michigan
6th Place: Western Michigan
7th Place: Illinois State
8th Place: Central Michigan

Semifinals - Match 9
No. 1 Florida Gulf Coast def. No. 4 Akron (3-1-1)
A. Clark def. M. Dull (4&2) – Florida Gulf Coast
A. Wentworth def. N. Nassar (2&1) – Akron
K. Holbert def. I. Shah (5&4) – Florida Gulf Coast
M. Marck-Sherk def. A. Pearce (1UP) – Florida Gulf Coast
L. Edmonds (ALL SQUARE) D. Nicholson

Third/Fourth Place - Match 12
No. 4 Akron def. No. 2 Northern Illinois (ALL SQUARE/Akron Wins Tiebreaker)
M. Dull def. I. Samudio (5&4) – Akron
B. Ward def. A. Wentworth (3&2) – Northern Illinois
A. Ko (ALL SQUARE) I. Shah
K. Anderson def. A. Pearce (5&4) – Northern Illinois
D. Nicholson def. L. Ingle (6&5) – Akron